Becoming a Fruit-Bearing Tree

Moses to instructs the Jewish people regarding how they were to conduct their conquest of the Land of Israel.

Becoming a Fruit-Bearing Tree

Moses told the Jewish people, “If you besiege a city…you must not destroy its [fruit] trees.”

Our emotions are the measure of our maturity. Many people are gifted with superior intelligence or talent, but truly refined emotions are achieved by shedding childlike self-absorption and by contributing to the world. Similarly, fruit-bearing trees provide us with nourishment and delight at their own expense. In contrast, barren trees merely impress us with their stately presence; they may perhaps offer us shade, but they sacrifice nothing in so doing.

Therefore, when we seek instruction and inspiration, we should turn to people who are not only intelligent and talented, but who consistently utilize their gifts for the world’s greater good. And of course, we should emulate the example of the fruit tree ourselves.

Devarim Rabbah – Sefaria

When a fool comes into the study hall and sees everyone busy learning, he asks, “How does a person start learning Torah?” They tell him: “First he learns to read. Then he studies the Five Books of Moses, then the Prophets, then the rest of the written Torah, then he goes on to the Oral Torah, the Talmud, the laws and the aggada.” The fool says, “When will I ever learn all this?” and he runs away. But the wise man studies a chapter a day until he completes the entire Torah. (Midrash Rabba Devarim 8:3)